Co-existence with genetic modification 'possible'

In a recent article in the New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research, leading researcher and chief technical officer for AgResearch subsidiary Grasslanz Technology, John Caradus, looked at the issue through a global lens to see what the experience of other nations had been.

Proposed legislation in New Zealand is expected to allow greature use of GM and gene editing technology, including in plants; making co-existence critical to the needs of different industries of the primary sector. The issue was repeatedly raised in submissions on the Gene Technology Bill before the NZ Parliament.

"We know co-existence is achievable because several other nations have successfully managed it, including nations that are both major producers of GM products and non-GM products, with the latter including products from the organic sector," Caradus says.

"Organic farmers obviously have a particular interest given GM use is regulated to be zero. Co-existence regulations and guidance have been developed in many countries and can occur with appropriate planning and communication within farming communities. This must be working effectively when you consider that countries with the largest areas devoted to organic agriculture also have amongst the highest land area used for GM crops."

Genetic modification and gene editing have enabled major gains in the performance of crops globally, and opportunities to enhance pasture plant species are now being tested.

Caradus says co-existence has been a contentious issue since GM technologies were commercially released in the 1990s. In New Zealand in 2002, a public controversy emerged over the importation of corn claimed to be contaminated with GM corn, prompting a formal probe by Parliament.

"In the first decade of commercial GM use, there were a significant number of contamination incidents resulting from GM presence in non-GM crops and seed, some with a significant financial penalty," Caradus says.

"However, these types of incidents seem to be less frequent in recent times. New Zealand needs to learn from mistakes that occurred in the first decade of GM crop use and determine effective methods for ensuring co-existence of GM, non-GM and organic farming systemrs."

Strategies for effective co-existence included both on-farm management decisions and downstream segregation during processing of seed in the supply chain. Co-existence on the farm was reliant on physical containment to stop pollen dispersal and seed movement, which could be assisted by using biological/molecular containment through genetic manipulation to disrupt the pollination and fertilisation process.